McGill Changes the Names for Its Sports Teams

Read the open letter from McGill Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Suzanne Fortier, published on April 12, 2019.

After many months of consultations and discussions with the wider McGill community, and opinions and letters from others, Dr. Fortier has issued the decision that the name of the McGill athletic teams will be changed to reflect today’s expectations for recognition and acknowledgement of sensitivities of Indigenous peoples.

As she notes, the current name of the sports teams was not chosen originally with any reference to Indigenous peoples, but over time as culture has changed, it now needs to reflect our present reality.

A consultative process has been set in place to choose a new name by the beginning of the 2020-21 academic year. From now until then, the current name will no longer be used, and the teams will be referred to as the McGill teams.